WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "GAME OF DESTINY" !
Trust and intimacy made us one . Love and loyalty kept us together . But sometimes , things are just too good to be true .
Arriving at his destination, Kross turned the ignition off as he sat outside of the facility; contemplating which one of two ways today could possibly go. The staff at the rehab facility Taylor was currently getting treatment at called a few days ago, notifying him on the outstanding improvement she had been making.
Once he mustered up enough courage to leave his truck, security guards had him go through a metal detector after emptying his pockets. He was then sent over to the front desk to sign in and retrieve a visitors pass.
The facility was a nice place, he couldn't even be mad at the amount of money he was paying monthly. "Mr. Jackson?" The woman wearing white scrubs questioned, walking towards him with caution. "You are?" He asked, taking in her appearance.
"Nurse Christina. I'm the one who called you to update you about Taylor." She stated with a warm smile, show casing the small gap in her teeth. "I'll take you to the visitation wing." She offered, pressing the elevator button.
As they waited on the elevator to get down to the lobby level, his mind wondered where Taylor's head would be at. Just a few months ago she wasn't in the state to care for their daughter. Then in the mist of that, she was kidnapped and held hostage for God knows how long. He could only hope that she would have an open mindset with what he wanted to discuss.
After Nurse Christina escorted him up to the visitation room, she instructed him to have a seat and wait while another staff member bought Taylor down from her room. 10 minutes later, Taylor came walking through the white door in a baggy grey sweatshirt and matching pants.
She claimed a seat across the table from Kross, taking in how good he looked. Taylor always found Kross a fairly attractive man, but the drugs caused her to ignore all of his physical features.
"How have you been?" He started up a conversation. She shrugged, "Getting the help I actually needed." She proceeded to admit. He nodded. "And how are you liking the facility?" He asked, wanting to hear her true feelings; not only what the staff fed him.
"It's cool, nice. The staff here is great. They make you feel normal instead of like some prisoner who's here as a form of punishment or last resort." She told him, honestly. Just by her response; Kross could tell that Taylor was in a much better state, however it would take more than 5 minutes of conversation to prove it.
"How's Sky? I miss her so much." Taylor pouted, thinking about their daughter; who she hadn't seen in almost 6 months. It was no secret that the cause of that was partially her fault. "She's good. Getting bigger and smarter." Kross informed. A smile crept onto his face as he thought about Skylar.
"She misses you, like crazy. She asks about to every chance she gets." Kross said, trying to relieve Taylor of the shitty feeling of not being a active mom. "I'm so sorry Kross. I-I don't know...I was battling a lot. I'm sorry for putting our daughter at danger. Skylar is my entire world and I would never purposely do anything to harm her." Taylor voiced, on the verge of tears.
He cleared his throat, reading the regretful look on Taylor's face. "What's done is done. But, it's up to you on how you fix this; make it right." He said. "Uh, I was kinda, sorta hoping you'd bring her up here for a visit?" She looked at hopelessly.
His eyes fixated onto hers as he let out a bothersome sigh. "Taylor, Skylar isn't ready for all of that. Don't get me wrong, I want her to see you, but not now...not here." He reasoned fairly. She shook her head, completely understanding why right now wasn't the time or place— literally.
"Did she have a good birthday?" Taylor questioned. Kross chuckled, nodding his head before pulling his cellphone from his pocket. Once he found the pictures of Skylar from her birthday, he handed the phone to Taylor so she could see.
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Her eyes instantly grew watery. "Wow, she's gotten so big." Taylor sniffled, smiling down at the picture on Kross's phone screen. "Thank you." She added, handing the phone back to him. "No worries." He nodded. So far, the visit was going better than expected. He only hoped it stayed that way until it was over.
"Does she know?" Taylor looked across the table at Kross, low-spirited. He cleared his throat once again, already knowing what Taylor was asking. "No, she doesn't. When she asks about you, Destiny and I; simply tell her that you're taking time to better yourself so you'll be able to give her all the love and support she needs."
There was a few minutes of silence as Taylor took in what she had done to her daughter. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself, Kross." She shook her head in disappointment, looking away for a split second. "You're doing what's asked of you in this place, right?" He questioned, looking at the side of her face.
He could see the tears running down her cheeks. She needed consoling, but that wasn't his place— or at least he didn't think it was. "I am." She finally answered, wiping her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "Exactly. You getting the help you need and actually cooperating is the biggest apology you can give. One step at a time." Kross assured.
She exhaled, digesting his words because she needed to hear something a bit more on the motivational side. Taylor had been sober a total of 3 months, and in that time frame all she did was beat herself up for neglecting her duties as a mother.
"Before I go, I'd like to talk to you about something." Kross stated, licking his lips because they felt dry. "Lay it on me." Taylor sat up straight in her seat. "I proposed to Destiny a few months ago." He shared.
"We're getting married in three weeks. Skylar is a very intelligent kid and she's been asking why Destiny, her baby brother and I, will all have the same last name but she won't." Kross informed Taylor of the situation at hand. For the moment, he was sure it was only out of curiosity, but still he wanted to make Skylar apart of his legacy.
"With your permission and Skylar's approval, of course. I'd like to have her last name changed to Jackson; that is when the time is right though." He told her, being straight forward and upfront.
Taylor said nothing in response. When she searched for Kross at the expensive of Skylar's happiness, she didn't think about all of what would be at steak; especially since the two would only be co-patenting. She didn't have an issue with the changing of the last name— shit, she was somewhat happy to be included in having a say so; although she had all rights to.
Yet, Taylor couldn't control the emotions that came over her in the moment. To her, it felt as if she wouldn't be involved in her own daughters life anymore. Despite the fact of giving her life; Taylor felt as if part of her was being painted over with Kross's stamp.
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Authors note: I know it's been a minute since I updated, I was having the worst writers block 🥴 hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It wasn't much, but it'll do until the next update.
Thoughts on this chapter? How do you think the conversation between Kross and Taylor went?
